McGill University, Canada

Sited on a green 80-acre campus in Montreal, the largest city of the Francophone province of Quebec, McGill is consistently ranked among the world’s Top 50 universities by THE and QS, writes Reshma Ravishanker Founded in 1821, McGill University is one of Canada’s — and the world’s — most reputed institutions of higher learning. This 202-year-old publicly-funded university is consistently ranked among the world’s Top 50 higher education institutions. In the latest QS World University Rankings 2023, McGill is ranked #31 worldwide and in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, #46. Sited on a green 80-acre campus in Montreal (pop.1.7 million), the largest city of the Francophone province of Quebec, McGill offers a rich menu of academic programmes. The university’s 25 faculties and professional schools offer undergraduate and postgrad degrees in over 300 academic disciplines to 39,513 students mentored by 1,778 faculty. The extensive range of academic subjects offered includes computer science, agricultural economics, management, environment, chemistry, finance, music and psychology. McGill has an interesting history. In 1813, James McGill, a Scottish immigrant who prospered in Montreal, bequeathed £10,000 and a 46-acre estate to found the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning — later named after him — to provide quality education for Quebec’s minority English-descent population. Chartered in 1821, McGill began instruction in 1829 with the establishment of its faculty of medicine. The faculty of arts followed in 1843 succeeded by modern languages, commercial studies and science. Indian origin scientist Prof. H. Deep Saini is the incumbent 18th Vice Chancellor of the varsity. The university is also a pioneer of sports education. The world’s first modern football game was played in 1874 between teams of McGill and Harvard universities. Moreover, it was a McGill graduate, James Naismith, who invented the game of basketball. The university website also claims that “McGill is arguably the birthplace of hockey”. Montreal. Canada’s second largest urban area, Montreal’s thriving commercial centre is within a few blocks from McGill’s main campus. A student-friendly multilingual city — English and French are the most spoken languages — it ranks #1 in Canada and #6 worldwide in the QS Best Student Cities Index 2019. Housing rents are low, as is the crime rate. Commuting is also convenient with provision of excellent public transport services. The old parts of Montreal near the harbour have been carefully restored to their 18th century splendour although new contemporary office towers built over the past two decades dominate areas near the university. The city also hosts modern shopping complexes and an eclectic mix of restaurants serving cuisines from around the world. Montreal has cold, snowy winters while summers are warm. Temperatures range between 50C to -100C in winter and 180C-210C in summer. Campus facilities. McGill is spread across three campuses: Downtown (80 acres), MacDonald (1,600 acres) and Gault Nature Reserve (2,470 acres). McGill’s historic tree-lined main Downtown Montreal campus is an oasis of green at the foot of Mount Royal Park, whose summit hosts the largest and finest urban park…